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Author Topic: Speaking of carrying gear around...  (Read 4852 times)

JohnTravis

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Speaking of carrying gear around...
« on: April 28, 2011, 02:21:55 PM »

For the last couple of decades I, like several others of you on here have been collecting gear that gets moved around to whatever studio I'm working at. I personally own a pretty substancial collection of toys that I have come to rely on over the years. Now I just got home after making a record at the amazing Sonic Ranch Studios just outside El Paso, Texas and after looking at their gear list decided to not take any gear and use what they had. I have to say I really enjoyed not falling back on my tried and trusted favorite pieces of gear, and when it came around to mix I made the decision to not ship all of my usual mix racks over to the mix room, instead just taking two pieces of gear that I knew nothing in the room could emulate. At the end of the day I really enjoyed the experience and love the way the record came out, both the tracking and the mixes, so this question is for the other moderators and anyone else that wants to chime in. What are the things you consider essential that you couldn't make it work without?

I surprised myself by what I actually took to the mix studio in the end, by taking only my custom made SSL talkback compressor and a pair of Standard Audio Level-or compressor/distortion units, and wasn't really satisfied with the mix until they had worked their magic. I also found that the plug-in I had aways been hoping for finally exists and it's called the SoundToys Decapitator, seriously amazing!

What about you, What can't you do without?
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Bubba--Kron

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2011, 04:06:20 PM »

This reminds me of those clients that come in here and "have" to use one of their home recording mics because their ego wont allow it.  All at the destruction of the quality of the project.    They just wont recognize that gear is just gear and they should use anything at their disposal.

That being said, I refuse to track anything with out a real vintage Neve pre with good caps and will bring my own if needed.   Its silly but I dont care.      I am sure as hell  not your guys level yet, but seriously working hard on it!!

cheers
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ExcuseMe

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2011, 04:07:47 PM »

This is a really interesting question...  What could I not live without?  I new to the game, so I don't trust anyone with anything...   ;D  I would say I couldn't live without a really good pair of headphones.  I buy the good stuff, and different people have different definitions of good.  I would also want my own vocal mics. 
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Big Chief Awesome

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2011, 12:43:27 AM »

John so much information in your post, amazing really.

Question: During mixdown did you find yourself seeking a "familiar gear sound" for whatever sound that you were looking for regarding individual track treatment, or were you more willing to try whatever gear Sonic Ranch had at your disposal that you could experiment with to get the sounds that you were looking for?   Fun or No-Fun?

Also, how is the level-or pair indispensable to you, and what do you do with it? 

Huge thanks on the tip about the decapitator, I have been wanting to check that out for a while now. With much respect and thanks is advance...
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patwoltenholme

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2011, 09:18:17 AM »

Easy! Genelec monitors. Just too used to them now.

Jim Williams

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2011, 11:19:57 AM »

Bricasti M7. Without it it's a dry world.
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JohnTravis

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2011, 09:42:27 PM »

In reply to Big chief Awesome's post, sorry it took me a minute to get to this. I had a couple of recalls to tweak on last week.

Sonic Ranch has an incredible arsenal of gear and a better guitar and amp collection than anyone could possibly hope for, but what I was looking for was something that did something unusual and very specific.  I don't think I was looking for a familiar gear sound. It's more that the Level-Or's have a really great and unique distortion that I wasn't getting from anything else and although I was getting close with other approaches it just wasn't doing 'that thing' I needed it to do. I find they add a certain depth or thickness to things that aren't filling the right amount of space. In this case I put them on a bus and sent some of my drums mics through that bus and then added that into the mix parallel compression style. They are a relatively new toy for me, so I wouldn't say I can't live without them, but in this case they were definitely the right tools for the job.

The Decapitator is really a great plug-in, I hope you enjoy using it as much as I have been.

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ExcuseMe

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2011, 03:39:46 PM »

Okay, I'm going to have to correct my answer on this won.  You guys reminded me of something.  In addition to really good headphones and a decent sound curtains, I want some good monitors.  Even with good headphones, I still need the bands and clients to hear what I'm doing.  Without really good monitors, I'm just blowing in the wind. 
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fossiltooth

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Re: Speaking of carrying gear around...
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2011, 12:14:03 PM »

I've got to have at least: 4 channels of Neve (or good modern equivalent), 4 channels of API, and a pair of Auratones (or access to NS10s). I'll bring any or all of those if the studio doesn't have them.

Otherwise that I'm pretty easy! Sometimes I bring a few compressors if the studio doesn't have enough cool stuff: maybe pairs of TLA-100a, LA-3A and dbx 160. Often enough, the studio will have plenty of cool stuff and all the personal gear will stay at home.

I'll usually bring a few mics: my C414s, RE-15, SM7 and AT4047 can handle the travel and are nice to have on hand if the studio doesn't have enough interesting options for full-band tracking.
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